


You're A Cad

by SimplyTruth



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Enemies to Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Post-Canon, Slow Burn, Vlad needs therapy, irregular updates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2019-10-23 04:56:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17676860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyTruth/pseuds/SimplyTruth
Summary: After an unusual and unexpected return of the public's number one enemy, a small change turns the situation into a strange one. But Jazz knows better. She won't let her guard down.





	1. One Night, A Meteor Came To My Door

The fresh night air was a nice change from the stuffy hot one few days ago. Surely the fact that earth had just avoided a major crisis did help with the positive mood.

As the daughter of Jack Fenton and the older sister of Danny Fenton (she almost thought 'Phantom', but in the end she decided that he will always be her dorky little brother) himself, she got her own share of popularity aside from her already-prestigious one.

Thankfully, the newest and youngest Mayor Foley strictly forbade the hungry reporters and paparazzi to make unauthorized interviews or shots of the Fenton and the Manson for the time being by yelling "Man, leave them alone will you?" and throwing his hands in the air exasperatedly at the press conference. That way, Jazz could lounge peacefully by her room's window that night.

Just five minutes ago she saw her brother flying away toward the Manson's house; not hard to tell since it's the biggest house on the block. So he was paying his new girlfriend slash best friend a late-night visit? No problem, she thought.

It's still a bit past eleven right now. She would wait until midnight; she's a tolerant older sister after all (in contrary of what Danny often think of her!)

However, if he's not coming back after the clock struck twelve then they're going to have a talk. Having a power didn't mean he could acting irresponsibly... though she would let him off the hook if he's late because of his "hero job". She knew ghosts prefer the nighttime.

Jazz looked over the calm night sky and searched for the stars. In a well-lit city like this, it was hard to find any stars at all. She smiled anyway, reminiscing these past few days. It was a rough ride indeed, for the whole world and her family especially. Her smile turned into a slight frown; she still could remember the horror and grief on her parent's face when she told them about Danny. What an awful moment to tell them the truth.

It was all soon replaced with relief though, as Danny made his appearance through a ghost portal (how did he do that anyway? Summoning the portal out of nowhere? She made a mental note to interrogate Danny about it later) with his army of ghosts--ready to make the earth into a "phantom" planet.

And just like a perfect ending for a movie, Danny Phantom was now officially and globally acknowledged as a hero. The earth was safe, everyone's happy.

Well, maybe not everyone. There was certainly one person that didn't get his share of happiness; someone who's now officially and globally acknowledged as a villain, currently MIA, and by God she swore she couldn't care less of the said man. He could wander the outer space for all his life (if demise didn't find him sooner) and no one would care. She hoped he could learn one or two life lessons from his fate; one of them should be something along "don't be a creep that obsess about other man's wife". What a fruit loop.

All of those thoughts about the man residing somewhere on the space made her interest on the stars wane off to a degree. She decided to review the lesson for tomorrow's class (high-schooler didn't get any break, not even after a worldwide almost-apocalypse) with her faithful companion, Bearbert Einstein.

After settling down comfortably on her bed with pillows, book, and her plush bear she looked at the clock on her nightstand, making another mental note to remember Danny's curfew. She then stole a one last glance of the night sky before pouring all of her mind into her book...

She jumped out from her bed and made a run to the window, stretching her head out of the windowsill as far as possible. Eyes squinted, she looked at the sky upper left side from her window. Something just twinkled from afar.

A star? No, she corrected herself, there was no way a star could shine that bright. Must be a passing airplane or a blimp. She felt a little embarrassed for getting hopeful earlier, but a girl can dream.

 _Wait,_ did the plane just getting closer?

Sure enough, the tiny green dot on the night sky was getting bigger and bigger by seconds. This time she knew it wasn't her hopeful mind playing tricks at her, because she felt anything but hopeful right now. Weirded out, mostly. And soon panic was catching up as well, refusing to be left behind on that outrageous situation. It was indeed a star; a shooting star. A meteor.

And it was coming her way.

She didn't have long to think, instantly running away from the window and hiding on the floor beside her bed (the triangle of life from the earthquake survival theory crossed her mind), hoping the bed would giving her a little protection from the impact.

Seconds later, a loud whizzing sound was heard, followed with a blast and shock wave that shook the house. The booming sounds was deafening and she quietly thanking her reflexes for covering her ears on the right time.

She stayed on the floor for a moment and checking the condition of her room from her position. It was a bit dusty and she was sure her window glass was broken due the impact, but other than that the damage seemed minimal. No fire or cracking walls, but she's on the second floor so she wasn't sure about the ground. She raises slowly and finally stood to check the rest of the room. Only broken windows and knocked-over knick-knacks. Eh, she could deal with those.

Since her room was basically at one piece, it seemed the meteor... or whatever it was fell to the road instead of her house. She peered down from her window, careful not to step on the glass pieces. The collision created a smoky crater on the asphalt road, knocking several lamp posts, road sign, and several houses' (including the Fenton's) porch.

From afar she heard shuffling from her parents' room and without even looking she knew her parents were now awake. She was sure Danny was on his way back as well, given the huge collision it made. Her sight was still locked into the crater down below, now gave off a light green glow.

The area was still covered by dust and smoke, but they're slowly thinning and with a bit of narrowing eyes, she could see how big (or small) the meteorite actually was.

"A binocular would be nice..." Jazz muttered to no one in particular. Almost immediately, she mocked her own curiosity for overpowering her fear. She couldn't help it; one could not simply tear their eyes from a trainwreck, especially someone with above-average intelligence and ever-curious as her. Not to mention it's kind of a rare trainwreck from the outer space.

Oh, she could see it now. Splinters of green stones glowing around the center of the blackened concave asphalt. She could also felt the radiating heat and the smell of molten tar mixed with dust. And then, closer to the center, there were bigger pebble-sized green rocks and a pair of legs--

Jazz rubbed her eyes once. Twice. No, her vision was fine. She wasn't sure if she want to continue looking... she's not a fan of the sight of dismembered body parts. A scenario crossed her mind; it could be an unfortunate case of astronaut and accident on their job. Or could it be a random passerby who got hit by the meteor? It was unlikely though. She doubt anyone was walking by this late in the middle of the street, of all place. A drunk person, maybe, but the nearest bar is almost three blocks away from here.

On her second inspection, she could see that the legs were actually intact (thank God). She could even make out a shape of a body now. Looking at the tall and bulky posture, it was definitely a male. What a luck to remained one-piece after such incident, she thought, he must have a crazy-good luck or a crazy-strong body......

The smoke was thinning further, and her eyes grew wide. It finally hit her, the identity of the fallen victim. That's when her parents broke into her room.

"Jazz, honey, are you alright? We heard a huge sound coming from outside and we can't find Danny--Jazz!? Where are you going?"

Jazz ran past her parents, down the stairs and to the front door. She jumped the cracks on the porch, landing on the warm road (she just realized she was barefooted) and quickly went straight to the edge of the crater.

Now standing closer than before, her eyes couldn't be wrong. And as much as she always wanted to be right, now was not the time.

Down there, laid the arch-enemy of his brother, still in the form she was familiar with after seeing him in certain circumstances. Vlad Masters--no--Plasmius sprawled unconscious with his tattered white jumpsuit and his white-red mantle. It was like discovering a wounded bird, only she felt nothing but resentment toward the said bird.

Was he dead? His body was slightly twitching, emitting some weird green sparks and smokes. Like watching some kind of broken robot animation, the twitching suddenly stopped and he turned back into his human form. He looked just like before he revealed his secret to the world, with his finely-tailored black suit (now ruined though) and silver hair. He was alive, alright.

She considered her options for a moment, although panic was slowly rising again after the shock was finally dissipated. Instinctively her hand reached for the cellphone in her jeans' pocket, but who should she call? She knew it was pointless to try to keep the man's return a secret from the media, since the meteor alone would definitely caused an uproar.

Possibilities ran across her head; who? Who was the right person to call after this kind of event? The police? The firefighters? Government agents? Why was her brother not there yet?

A pained moan startled Jazz from her thoughts. She held the phone closer to her chest, clutching it as fear crept down her spine. She was ready to run away should she exposed to any immediate danger. The middle aged man shifted on his place on the ground and opened his eyes, looked disoriented with his surrounding at first. Then his line of vision caught her. Vlad's lips trembled and he muttered something weakly, barely scraping the minimum qualification of a whisper.

_"...Jasmine?"_

And just like that, he was out like a light. She stood still, frozen on her spot. When he didn't move a muscle for a minute, she sighed in relief.

She ended up calling an ambulance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this first chapter!  
> And no, there will be no underage thing in this. This is a slow burn after all.


	2. Losing Your Head Is Such A Common Theme

"Hey, aren't those the Fenton kids? "

"Don't you watch the news? They said the meteor fell in front of their house."

"What luck. Guess they're here for anti-radiation check up or something?"

The redhead Fenton resisting the urge to glare at the passing hospital staffs. After a hectic night and only few hours of sleep, Jazz found herself walking down the long white corridor. She didn't like the faint chemical scent and the whiteness of the floor and walls. It was just too... sterile. Danny seemed to hate it as much as she was.

"Looks like they still don't know about Vlad..." Jazz whispered to Danny, "they probably will though. As soon as the government agent tell the press."

"I don't care about the press, Jazz. I'm just glad you're not hurt," her brother replied with impatient sigh. "Surprised to find you standing so close to the impact site... seriously though, why's that?"

She shrugged, giving him a nonchalant "Curiosity?"

Danny raised his eyebrow, obviously not buying it. "You don't know how confused I was when I saw the ambulance and... _him_ ," he made a face when mentioning that one person (Jazz was secretly glad they shared a common hatred for the crazed-up fruitloop). "I thought it's a gas explosion or a crashing airplane-- _I didn't expect a meteor!"_

"Neither did I. Good thing the damage is not that severe; I think we had enough cosmic shenanigans for the week."

"The only good thing from this is both of us can skip school for once--"

"--permission to leave for formal questioning, Danny," she corrected him. Did he think she's enjoying any of these? Missing school wouldn't be doing any good to her school performance.

"It's the same thing," Danny rolled his eyes, but then make an annoyed expression at another passersby whispering about him and his sister. "I swear I'm glad I could finally come clean with people about my power, but sometimes being popular sucks. Why can't we just fly invisibly through the walls again?"

She eyed him funny; it's not even a week and her brother already complained about his hero status?

"If this bothered you, then wait until we finally go to school. Our friends will go _absolutely nuts._ "

Judging by how his face went from annoyed to horrified at amazing speed, it finally dawned on him how popular he actually was. She really couldn't blame him though, after all high school was supposed to be the incarnation of almost all teenager's misery. All except her, fortunately.

"And to answer your previous question, the government agents asked you specifically to show up in your human form for security measures. Like, actually corporeal and showing up on camera so they know you're really here," she said, trying to be as informative as usual.

After sharing a look, two pairs of eyes immediately looking for security cams, wondering if they were being monitored already. Jazz pondered if behind those doors on the relatively empty corridor, special agents were on their guards. After all, the world's most wanted villain was hospitalized here.

"I wonder what they did to Vlad?" she whispered lowly.

"I dunno, but he's lucky he has the ghost power to survived the crash... and got immediate treatment," he specifically looking at her questioningly at the last part, mentally asking 'I'm surprised you didn't leave him to die' with his eyes. Again, his expression was curious rather than accusing.

"It's a standard procedure, Danny. Even cops would apply emergency treatment to injured criminals." Her reasoning was logical, but in all honesty she didn't know how much truth was in that statement for her case. Mostly, she did it because it was something a decent human being would do, but then it meant she felt pity toward him...

The thought left a bad aftertaste in her mind and she decided not to revisit it again.

"Besides, I would like to see him alive to accept his punishment. Death seemed too good for him."

Danny nodded in agreement at her statement. Their walk stopped when they saw familiar figures in front of a VIP room.

"Tucker! Sam!" Danny's face visibly brightened at the sight of his best friends, speeding up to meet them. Jazz didn't mind and catching up with him in normal speed. She heard them cried a synchronized "Danny!" as he approaches. She rolled her eyes at odd trio who were being heartwarmingly adorable in their own way.

"I can't believe I'll see you guys here! ...uh, at least I didn't expect you to be here too Sam," Danny grinned sheepishly at his girlfriend, who was now crossing her arms and looked slightly offended.

"Well, forgive me if I'm less relevant than you two, Mr. Mayor and Mr. Hero, but there's no way I'm going to school alone when you two freaking skipped it," she stated as it was a matter of fact.

"Actually, we're on a very legal leave of absence," Jazz intercepted, which earned her a glare from Sam.

"It's the same thing, Jazz. Why are _you_ here, anyway?"

"Uhh... she's kind of our key witness here, Sam. Jazz's the first one discovered ol' Vladdy on the impact site. Also she's the one who called for ambulance and saved his butt..." Danny replied slowly, hoping he didn't flare Sam's temper further.

"This means you're the only one that skip school today," Tucker nudged her playfully. Sam elbowed his ribs much less playfully in return, made him yelped an "Ow!"

Two bulky bodyguards (with their usual earpieces, all black attire and sunglasses cliches) came rushing to his aid, only to be dismissed by the young mayor soon after. The went back to their positions, watching the teens intently from afar.

The bodyguards did little to faze the goth girl, Jazz observed, since she didn't even flinch and looked ready to talk again. Being born into a filthy rich family sure had its perk.

"It's technically not skipping if I got the mayor's approval to leave," Sam huffed, back on crossing her arms again, "besides, I don't want to spend my first day at school alone... Imagine _all_ of the attention and annoying questions I'll get after all that had happened to us?"

The four of them shuddered at the same time.

"I guess it's kind of neat you let her off, Tucker. It'll be horrible otherwise," Danny smiled gratefully.

Tucker shrugged, "Hey, just doing a favor for my friends. Have gotten my hand at these mayoral things, might as well do what I can. Beside, it doesn't feel right without both of you here..." he paused when his gaze met Jazz's narrowing eyes, "...and of course you too, Jazz. Heh heh, heh..."

"Damn right," Jazz cut him short. "Speaking of which, when will the questioning starts? Is it necessary to do it here in the hospital?"

"Oh. Yeah, about that." Tucker made a hand gesture to the bodyguards, who nodded at him and going somewhere else.

"Man, this mayor thing is pretty cool! See what I could do just by a flick of my hand?" he gushed at his newfound power just like a toddler found a new toy. "Oh, and here comes the real deal," Tucker quickly straightened himself, trying to pull his most authoritative persona (as much as a nerdy teen could, which was not much really). The two bodyguards were back, now with another company of a middle-aged man with sturdy posture. Jazz gasped.

"Guys. _Guys_ , it's Mr. McKenzie!"

Danny and Sam looked cluelessly at Jazz and then back at each other. "Mr. who?"

"Our current Minister of Defense, doofus. Don't you two watch the news?" Jazz replied in a hushed tone that sounded a bit too excitedly, but quickly calmed herself to regain her (supposedly) grown-up composure. The minister shook Tucker's hand firmly. If anything, he was nice enough not to comment on the teenage mayor's faltering charade after their one-sided power handshake. He instead shifted his attention to acknowledge the other teens' presences.

"Daniel Fenton, it's a pleasure to meet you," Danny nodded stiffly at the Minister's low and intimidating voice, "also Jasmine Fenton and... Samantha Madison, I presume?" he raised his eyebrows at Sam's presence, making her scowl deepened.

"It's _Manson_. Just here to complete the group and accompany my boyfriend, Mr. Minister. Feel free to go on, I'm with them."

"Very well," he surveyed over them, expression hardly changed, "I guess it's alright if I told this matter to the four of you. I would appreciate it that you won't tell this to anyone else." He stated that in a very level voice, but the teens know that there was an additional "or else" in his gesture. They nodded instantly.

"Um, excuse me Mr. Minister? I thought we're here because you want to do a formal questioning?" Jazz asked sheepishly, finding a mismatch in their initial arrangement.

"That too. But the whole point of this whole meeting is to consult and discuss about this particular... situation." The four friends raised their eyebrows at the Minister's last cryptic bit.

"Jasmine Fenton, you're the first one who discovered the body of Vladimir Masters, correct?" She cringed both at the usage of hers and Vlad's full name, but affirming his question with a "Yes".

"Do you see anything weird when you first discovered him?"

"I-I'm not sure what you expected, I was panicking at the moment so I'm not sure..." she was getting nervous all of the sudden, feeling completely lost.

"I'll change my question then: how was his condition when you first saw him?"

"He was... completely battered? I mean, he was lying on his back in a crater that emitted green smokes with his jumpsuit completely tattered and--"

"Hold that. Jumpsuit?" the Minister cut in.

"Yes...?" Jazz raised her brow questioningly, "You know, the one he used when he's in his ghost mode--"

"I know what you mean by it," he intervened again, making Jazz's nervousness disappear and replaced by annoyance. She pulled her hands into her chest, regaining her composure back and voice a lot firmer.

"Oh? Is this fact has something to do with the 'particular situation' you want to discuss with the four of us here?" she fired back with a glare, which seemingly has little effect to the minister's outer expression. Danny grimaced however, knowing that his sister's know-it-all-ness was not something to be challenged. Not because of the case that her being actually right, but how stubborn the young Fenton could be.

She and the minister had the staring showdown going for a while, before the gruff man cleared his throat and finally broke the eye contact, "I think it would be faster if I just show the four of you about the 'situation' we have at hand now." He reached for the room's door handle and opened it, gesturing everyone but Tucker's two bodyguard to go inside.

"You see," the minister started again after he shut the door behind him close, "This is why I need your testimony of Vladimir Master's state on the accident scene." The teenagers instantly focused on the man on the hospital bed, guarded by familiar figures. He had lost his suit and wore a hospital gown instead. His ponytail, however, remained.

"Vlad..." Jazz slowly stated, crunching her face unwillingly at the man who seemingly lay unconsciously on the bed,  "And Guys in White?" Danny exclaimed less hatefully but still bewildered at the white-suited men on either side of the bed.

"Hold on, is this all you got for the security? I thought you guys hospitalized the world's most dangerous criminal? With a ghost power?" Jazz particularly stressed the 'ghost' part down.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Jazz," Sam added.

"Me too," said Tucker and Danny simultaneously.

Jazz partially hope that this fact will get her a reaction from the minister, but he remained unfazed. If anything, he only looked a bit smug.

"Kids," the minister started, "This is exactly the situation I want to told you about. Miss Fenton claimed that just the moment after Vlad hit the ground, he was still in his ghost form... correct?"

Jazz nodded, but still eyeing the minister sternly. "...What are you trying to say?"

"For your information, after he was admitted to this hospital and get his wounds treated, we conducted several... tests on him," the gang tensed up at what the brief break in his sentences might implied, "He was a half-ghost like Mister Fenton, correct?" now it was Danny's turn to nod and shiver from the memory that the government and GIW will gladly experiment on him anytime.

"But something truly peculiar occurred. No matter what we did to him, he won't turn into his other form. We can't seem to detect any ghost power from him either."

At this, the four teens blinked, looked at each other in confusion. Jazz tried to process the words, and the clearer the conclusion she got, the more weirded out she felt. Suddenly, why they only got minimal countermeasures makes sense. She too now realized that they cuffed Vlad's hands to the bedside.

"You mean... he's just a human now?" she laid the question slowly, unsure. The minister nodded at her.

"You're catching up quick, Miss Fenton. Our tests concluded that Vladimir Masters has lost all of his ghost power."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there goes the main catalyst of this fic. Tried to keep the world's logic cartoon-y; I mean who would let a high-schooler become a mayor again?
> 
> The story would take a more serious tone on some parts however. Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!


	3. Back to the Top of the Slide, Down, a Sad Clown

"Vlad has--"

"--lost his power?!"

Under a normal circumstances, Jazz would make a witty comment on how synchronized Tucker and Sam's response were. But now, she was just as dumbfounded as them.

Unlike them though, she managed to kept her mouth from hanging open. Thus saving her a bit of dignity.

However, their perfectly normal reaction made her realize that the most relevant person in the room had been awfully quiet during the whole ordeal. Jazz stole a glance at Danny; yep, he's clearly in shock. His bulging eyes pretty much spoke for himself. But she noticed something else; the way his shoulder slackened like he was the one who had lost the power, and his gaze toward the unconscious man... Jazz found herself recoiled when she recognized the sympathetic glint in his eyes.

Shouldn't he be happy?

The older Fenton tried to reason; maybe he just pitied the man. She almost felt it too, knowing how far the man has fallen. But thinking back of the atrocious deeds he had done, she found it hard to feel bad for him.

"Are you sure about that?" Danny finally asked the minister with a strange strained voice.

"Affirmative, Mister Fenton. We had done anything we could; every test we had in the book, and the data showed a negative result if any trace of ghost power in him."

"But how's that even possible? I saw it myself that he still had his power when he fell down," Jazz argued, which the minister acknowledged.

"This is just our hypothesis, but what you witnessed could be the moment where the last bit of his power was zapped out of him."

Sam raised her eyebrow, "Zapped out? You mean something sucked the power out of him?"

"Yes, Miss Manson. Some of his bumps and scars showed a mark of a collision. And judging by the material scattered around his crash site, it was safe to assume that he was struck by the same green meteor that almost doomed our planet days ago."

"Yikes," Danny looked pained, "Karma really goes around!"

“That… kinda makes sense,” Jazz crossed her arms, “Remember Danny? The meteor has the effects on repelling ghost. If Vlad was hit by a huge chunk of it..."

"I'd say he's lucky that he was still alive, with or without power," her brother looked at the hospital bed grimly.

 _It was true_ , Jazz thought. Of all places he could ended up on after the meteor hit him, he had to fall back to the earth instead of stranded further into the outer space. Lucky bastard.

Tucker cleared his throat. "Then Mr. McKenzie, if you got everything figured out, why do you even need us here?"

Folding his hands behind his back, the Minister of Defense turned to the young mayor. "Well, Mayor Foley, I needed to get Miss Fenton's statement first to validate this information. And since my research told me that you four are the most familiar ones with him and the whole ghost-situation, I want your input on how to handle him after this."

Jazz was no less disturbed to know that the government was keeping a close eye on them. She couldn't help but realized that the minister didn't even consider on reaching their parents first--meaning that they knew what was REALLY going on--but she continued with her question anyway. "Handle him? Why don't just throw him into the jail? He must be much less threatening now that he has lost his power."

"I was wondering if he still poses a huge threat, even without his power," the minister replied. "Even with his world-class criminal status, I must reminded you that he was still one hell of a rich man. We couldn't just freeze his assets and businesses now that he's alive."

"He pretty much had freeze his electability as a mayoral candidate, though. Or any future political involvement," Tucker tugged and showed off his mayoral sash as he said this. The three of them getting flashbacks of their previous mayor, along with his short-lived reign on their little town.

"...exactly, but money did wonders, Mayor Foley. If we throw him to jail, be it public or a special one, he could easily bail his way out."

"Oh... right. You got a point," Tucker stopped fiddling with his sash.

"So we proposed on getting him a permanent house arrest instead, with constant and full surveillance for the rest of his life."

"What?!" Jazz shrieked, "You'll let him back to his house scot-free?"

"Not exactly 'scot-free', Miss Fenton. He's coming home, yes, but he's not going anywhere else either. The government would restrict and monitor his every moves," McKenzie replied calmly, "This way we could isolate him; who knew what kind of associates he would make should we lock him in  prison. You shouldn't underestimate his ability to influence others."

"What about his underground laboratory? It's like giving a villain his own science lair!" Jazz objected.

"We'll dismantle anything like that before we send him back for security reasons, but that's as far as we could do in meddling with his assets," at this, a clear displeasure shown at the rigid mans face, "after all, the charges we put on him wasn't strong enough to completely apprehend him."

"This is the man who held the entire world hostage, you know? 'Saving us all' for world domination?" she hoped it at least affect the minister's judgement, to no avail.

"But the meteor coming to our way wasn't exactly his doing, nor that he had the power to stop it as he initially claimed. At worst, we could only charge him for a terrorism attempt."

"You're saying like it's nothing bad!" now Sam was riled up.

"The thing is, he hasn't directly did something that put us in any disadvantage. This really is the best that we can do." McKenzie states with a finality.

"Legal issues is such a pain sometimes," Jazz groaned, which earned a look from her brother.

"Never thought I'll hear you say that," Danny pointed out. She glared at him.

"Kindly shut up, Danny." What's wrong with him today? He acted way too relaxed toward this important decision, but he was in no way nonchalant; he definitely paid close attention. He was acting as if he knew that this whole Vlad situation would sort itself out somehow.

Was it his heroic optimism?

"So, I need your opinions on how dangerous Vladimir Masters could be so we could put up a suitable range of surveillance and security around the perimeter of his residence," the minister finally stated his request.

"He would try to get his power back," Sam said without missing a beat.

"Definitely would," Tucker backed her up.

"Yeah, that sounds just like him," Jazz thought for a while, "You might want to put any anti-ghost stuffs on him too. Just in case he did got his power back."

"Already did. We've gathered some materials from the meteor fragments. We made it into security chip that will track him and set an alarm off if we detect any ghost power from him. We made sure the chip prevent any ghostly transformation too," McKenzie's tone took a darker turn, "The chip couldn't be removed easily either, we guarantee it." He then turned to  Danny, "The material provided us with a great deal of countermeasures against ghost, Mister Fenton. Just in case any ghost... or half-ghost decided to go rogue again."

He ended his intimidating sentence with an unsettling smile. Jazz decided she didn't like their Minister of Defense and don't want anything to do with him again.

However, her brother's expression was oddly pensive, clearly lost in his own thought.

"Eh, I guess that's enough. Just make sure you really keep a close eyes on him. He's a slippery guy."

"Will do, Mister Fenton. We'll make sure to put our best men until we could assess the level of threat he poses. We appreciate your input."

Tucker raised his hand politely, "Um, is the meeting done? We could go back now?"

"Yes, Mayor Foley, you might go back to your work. Thank you for your time," he stared at the gang for a while, "and the three of you as well. You could go back to school. Especially you Miss Manson, it's not good to skip school too often."

"I got special permission leave from the mayor!" the goth girl fumed, and Danny tried his best to calm her down while all of them exiting the room.

"Wait, Mr. McKenzie! One more thing," Danny reached out to the man, "When Vlad has woken up, you might want to put him into a therapy." The boy paused, like trying to figure out whether he was doing the right thing or not. In the end, he decided to go with it. “He might insisted that he doesn’t need it, but believe me, he does.”

The minister raised his brow at this. “...very well Mister Fenton, I’ll put that in mind.”

Jazz wondered if it was just an inside joke on his brother’s part, or if that was a genuine suggestion.

 

\--

 

After walking through the same route of seemingly endless white corridors, they finally left the building. They didn't talk much, and the minister's order for them to keep their mouth shut until further notice really didn't help. Both Jazz and Danny parted way with Tucker and Sam to go back their house. Before that, Danny hugged both his friend and girlfriend, promising to meet up with them soon.

Tucker arranged a chauffeur to took the Fenton siblings residence. Fortunately, the damage of the meteor crash wasn't that big. A burnt road with a huge crater and broken porches; Amity Park had suffered much worse. The car ride was a quiet one, though, after a series of deafening silences beforehand, the older sibling felt that it had gone long enough.

"Weird things happened one after another huh?" Jazz tried to casually start a conversation, "First the meteor that fell right in front of our house, and then all those hospital things."

"Yeah... it's kind of crazy," Danny replied slowly.

“You know what would be crazier though? Our first day at school tomorrow,” Jazz teased him, "worried about that yet?" The serious tension broke just a bit, and Danny grinned sheepishly at her.

“What? Are you trying your psychological nonsense to me again? Quit it!”

“It's psychoanalysis. And it’s okay to feel overwhelmed, Danny. After all, you’re not used to all of the attention.” She patted him softly on his shoulder, “But to me, you’re still my little brother, you know.”

Danny made a face, the usual one when she was being overly patronizing again. But it only persisted for few seconds before he quickly calmed down. He glanced up at her.

“I guess... thanks, Jazz.”

She blinked at his response, but welcomed it with a smile. This moment gave her a strong sense of deja vu.

Yes, it was like that one time after the C.A.T incident, when she finally came clean that she knew about his brother’s power all along. The rare moment of mutual understanding that bonded them closer, but at the same time left her a bit lonely. Maybe having her little brother finally growing up made her felt that way.

“Say, Danny. For someone with a whole lot on his plate, you've been unexpectedly calm,” she started.

“It’s not like I could do anything as a high school student, could I?” he shrugged. “I don’t really get those grown-up thing, and as scary as that minister is being he was just doing his job.”

“He implied that he could shoot you down anytime you screw up though...” she whispered, making sure the driver can’t hear them. Danny shuddered.

“Remind me to play it safe for a while, Jazz.”

“Hey, that’s what I did all these time!” she pouted, “and you guys think I’m nosy!”

“You ARE nosy, but I guess you got it right sometimes,” he put his head on his palm and watched the moving scenery outside the window, “Having special power is not that simple...”

"That's right. I'm glad you understand about the risk," she squeezed his shoulder, "Unlike a certain cheese-head. And he was supposed to be at least 25 years older than you. I guess being a vengeful man really stunted your mental development. Can't believe he was our parents' colleague." She shook her head at this.

Well, she couldn't really call her parents a complete responsible adult either... but still. It was really not that hard to be better person than Vlad; he set the bar real low.

Danny looked tiredly at Jazz, “About that... do you think we should tell Mom and Dad? About this situation?"

Jazz paused for a while. "I think Dad already caught on about his old friend's true nature by now. And I think it's better to just let them know from the press release; I think they were still on edge after what happened days ago. Did you remember the talk we have with them?"

He nodded quietly. Jazz was almost never saw both of their parents looked that nonplussed or worried. But of course, they couldn't really prevent Danny from doing what he needed to do: keeping them safe. She felt a bit proud at this though, at least now their parents know that their kids could handle things better than them. Jack and Maddie ended up letting them go after making sure both siblings swore that they won't do anything too rash anymore and go to them whenever they feel the situation was getting out of hand.

On a brighter side, both of them were elated that their inventions were working flawlessly, in contrary to what they usually thought. That made Jazz realized how bright her parents truly were. Maybe she could really learn one thing or two from them...

Ended her train of thought in a happy note, she smiled toward Danny. He would be relieved now, she could imagine. His secret identity was one thing that burdened him all this time. Not to mention his biggest arch nemesis was now rendered pretty much non-threatening...

But he went gazing off again. His “thinking guy” mode was in full force.

“Danny?" she poked his arm, which earned no reaction at all.

"Earth to Danny: what’s wrong with you?" she was now shaking his shoulder, snapping him from his stupor. "You were acting really weird since you heard that fruitloop lost his power,” she was getting really concerned, “have you grown to like him or something?”

“What? _No!”_ he retched, “Ugh, never say something like that again... the image will scarred me for the rest of my life. I’ll be the one needing therapy.”

“You're being awfully quiet whenever he was mentioned, though.” Jazz then went by the direct route. No more beating around the bush. "Did you know something that I didn't?"

Her words rang in the air for a while. Danny blinked at his sister, wide eyed at first, and then Jazz swore that he looked like he want to tell her something. That or he got constipation all of the sudden. He then stole another glance at their driver and told her firmly,

"I'll tell you at home. We're almost there."

She almost objected, but seeing his brother's expression, it had to be an important issue. Surely enough, they arrived at the intersection of their house. After thanking the driver and made sure they were safe behind the wall of their house (despite it having cracks here and there from the meteor impact), Danny led her to his room and locked the door.

He comically looked around the window and shut it close, complete with the blind. Jazz raises her eyebrow at his brother's paranoid antics, which she thought was really unnecessary. But if that's what makes her brother feel safe to talk whatever it was to her, then she'll shut her mouth for once. It wasn't an everyday occurrences that her brother decided to let her in on important things.

See? She was a considerate older sibling.

"Whoo. Okay. I think that's enough," Danny threw himself on his bed, catching his breath. Not sure what to expect next, Jazz walked over and sit on the edge of his bed, waiting.

"Sooo... this thing that you want to tell me is...?" she prompted slowly. Danny was still lying on his back, eyes closed.

"I don't know where to start, really. You'll think I'm weird, or completely nuts."

"Couldn't be worse than that fruit loop anyway," Jazz shrugged, "I've seen weird things. Our family isn't exactly a normal one, you know?"

"Right... but this is nothing like those ghost things "weird". This thing... man, I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you this." Danny's eyes were still closed, but his forehead was scrunched up in frustration. "Aw man--if I said or did something wrong, _he_ would let me know I guess."

"Why it's not allowed? And _who_ would let you know _what?"_ Jazz brows were now mimicking Danny's; she didn't like it when she can't follow a conversation.

"...did you remember about the C.A.T incident? The one where I almost blow you guys over on the Nasty Burger?"

So it really had to do about that incident. It was not just her being nostalgic.

"But it's not you who did that," she protested, "It was a random ghost--"

"--except he wasn't a random ghost!" Danny now put his arm across his eyes, voice raised. "That vile ghost? He was me from the another future. Or at least my ghost form, fused up with Vlad's. He was what I would be if I mess things up, Jazz.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the Fenton siblings' bonding. It's a rare kind of sibling dynamic in fiction and I’m grateful for that.
> 
> Also sorry for the irregular updates. Writing fanfiction is more of a new hobby that I tried recently, so I’m not really have any set schedule. And this chapter ended up being longer than I predicted… oh well. I hope you enjoyed this one as well!


	4. Give Me A Hint, Little Push In One Direction

How many months ago was the C.A.T incident again? A new semester has started now, it couldn't be more than half a year. Danny was now a tenth grader, and Jazz herself was on her final year, busy preparing herself for higher education. Preferably jumping up straight to university. With her track record, she had confidence that she could get into whichever university she puts her mind to.

On the other hand, she knew how insecure her brother would be about his own future. As far as she knew, her brother never put too much effort into academic pursuit. He wasn't blessed with great charisma or anything; his luck around girls or the social circles spoke enough for himself. She couldn't blame him, after all their parents haven't really put that much effort into being a normal parents. But if anything, she knew his brother's sense of justice was stronger than anyone else. Even if he wasn't all that excited about using his power to work at first, but his heart would be always in the right place.

That's why she had difficulty to believe in her brother's lengthy explanation.

"Wait, so you're saying..." she was now pacing around his room, with Danny now sitting on his bed, "that he was the future you from a bad timeline? I mean, your ghost side and Vlad's, fused together?"

"More like my ghost side ripped Vlad's ghost side and absorbed it, from what I heard."

"And your human side was..."

"Offed."

Jazz cringed uncomfortably at his brother deadpan reply.

"And a ghost that could manipulate time helped you? Locking out Dark Danny outside of time continuum?"

_ "Did you just gave him a nickname? _ But yeah, Clockwork helped me. Something about 'creating the best possible future' or something?" Danny scratched his head.

"I don't even know ghost could do that!" Jazz was pulling at her hair.

"What, you want to be able to do that too?" Danny made a rotating gesture with his pointer finger on his other palm. "Controlling time?"

"No! Well, I'd like to know the science behind it..." she quickly shook her head as if snapping herself out of it, "But no, what you've been through seemed like a stern warning for us not to mess with the time flow. I'd say we better forget about trying to control time." She then stopped on Danny's chair and sat on it. Jazz was quiet for a while, eyes wide,  trying to process the information. Truly, it was fascinating and terrifying at the same time.

"...I'm always afraid that… my ghost side would go against me one day. Making me into...  _ that." _ Danny looked down and twiddled his thumbs, his hair covered part of his face. "Maybe I shouldn't use my power that much."

Looking at her unsure, insecure brother right now really pulled on her heartstrings. A mere 15 years old boy shouldn't be burdened with the fate of the entire world on his back, or the potential danger that his power would put it into.

"Hey..." she started softly, "from what I heard, you become that way because you went through a great loss and because your ghost side lose your 'human' side, right? As long as both of you stayed together, I think things would be fine." She put on her comforting smile for an additional reassurance, "I think your ghost side also love the fact that his emotion was kept in check with your humanity, Danny. If not, you wouldn't even be able to use your power to help people. You have saved the entire world with your power as well." And for a finale, a huge grin. "You're also a Fenton, don't forget that!"

His discomfort slowly melted away the more she talked, and now his shoulder was no longer slumped. His eyes shone as if a huge burden has been lifted. "You're right." He returned her grin. "I shouldn't hesitate to put my power to use, as long as I'm helping and not hurting other people. Thanks, Jazz."

"Hey, that's what siblings are for, right?" she waved him off. "You already know it all along, you just need some validation, that's all."

"Yeah yeah," he closed his eyes and smiles as he laid down on his bed again. But their conversation hadn't ended just yet.

"So... what this had to do with Vlad?" Jazz muttered slowly to herself. Her mind racing, trying to piece together the information. "If that Vlad from that future lost his ghost side but still alive, does it mean you've met another version of powerless Vlad?" her eyes widened slowly as she made the connection. Her hypothesis was confirmed by her brother’s nodding. 

“And… what happened with that Vlad?”

“Old, weak, and miserable,” his reply was stern as if trying to steel himself, “I went further into the future of that timeline and I met him again. He lived alone in his secret lab...” He then swallowed, as if he doesn't want to say what’s next, “I think all that time alone without his ghost power and the destruction of the world around him really did a number to him because… he helped me.”

Jazz narrowed her eyes. “...He did?”

“Not only that, he even apologized to me!” he exasperatedly threw his hands up and proceed to sit up again, “He said his reason why he took me in and even agreed to take my ghost side away was because I asked to be freed from the pain of losing my family and friends and… he said he understood? As if he’s, he’s…”

“As if he’s not a completely heartless bastard…?” Jazz suggested. Danny covers his eyes with his palm, but pointed out his finger at Jazz.

“Yes. That.” Danny groaned, “Man, it feels weird to see him act like that you know?”

Jazz wanted to nod in agreement at that notion, but she tried not to. For now, she needed to make sense of her brother’s actions. 

"Do you sympathize with him now because his powerless version from another future has helped you before? Because you think this current Vlad also had the chance to redeem himself?"

Her question met with a long silence. She raised her brow, looking quizzically at her brother. What was her brother thinking?

"...it's crazy, isn't it?" he sighed, brief but hard like he needed to get it out of his system. "He has been hunting me and our family relentlessly, creating havoc because of his obsession; yet seeing him in a similar condition right now, I couldn't help but feel that way. He's my archenemy, for god's sake!" His last defense of calmness finally broke.

"Maybe... that was because you are a very kind person, Danny," she tried to reassure him. "It's a human thing to do, you know. Having a compassion."

It was also hard for Jazz to take. She didn't like the dilemmatic feeling. She especially didn't like the fact that he could relate to her brother's condition, even just a bit.

He snuck a glance toward her, "Then that makes you a kind person too, Jazz. That's why you called the ambulance first on him last night."

Her eyes widened. Flabbergasted.

Her brother wasn't supposed to see through her like that!

"I-- _ okay,  _ I might feel pity for him, but I still don't trust him!" she reasoned, "He ripped out your ghost form from you Danny, the very thing that created the problem? If he had an ounce of common sense, he wouldn't--"

"I WAS the one that created the problem, Jazz! If I didn't cheat on the test..." the vision of the future surely distort his self-worth, because he was wracked with guilt right now. Jazz had never seen her brother look this anguished. Her carefree, sometimes lazy little brother? 

Things really had changed. 

She gave Danny (and herself) some breathing space, to let things simmer down. It was a weird, long, and strenuous talk they’re having. When Jazz thought of talking with her brother, surely she didn’t think of those things they just talked about. Time-controlling ghost might stretching it a bit, but a version of cooperating, non-malicious Vlad?

Not even in her wildest dreams!

Not to mention she was still spent from the meteor shenanigans last night (it was only last night? Felt like ages ago for her). She inhaled deeply, carefully let it out, and rose from the chair to finally took a seat beside Danny on his bed.

“Don’t beat yourself too hard Danny,” she gave him a soft pat on his shoulder, “In the end, you made the right choice, right? Because we’re still here, alive. Thanks to you.”

Because her little brother was kind and courageous as he is.

“...thanks Jazz.”

Feeling his shoulder relaxing, she retrieved her hand back on her side, resting on the bed.

“Still, even though you feel sympathy for the other Vlad,  _ our _ Vlad is different,” she looked down with narrowed eyes, “Our family-- _ Mom _ is still alive. You haven't lost anyone, and he’s still a big manchild that tried to throw a tantrum by trying to rule the world.”

Danny chuckled a little. “Yeah, you’re right,” he looked up, eyes shining brighter than before as if the shadow of doubt has been cleared from his mind. His frown, however, persisted.

“Still, I don’t know what to do with him now that he has lost his ghost power. If he ever decided to continue troubling us…” he trailed off. “I don’t feel like beating up a powerless old man.”

“Then leave him be,” Jazz shrugged,  “He’s as good as a normal civilian now. With holes on his brain. You had enough ghosts to keep you busy.”

Danny scratched his head. “I guess could leave him to the police and government agents now.”

“...and the therapist." Jazz added slowly, blinked at her own words. Danny barked a laugh. 

_ “HA! _ Good one Jazz!” his joy was cut short by his ringtone, however. He looked at the caller ID and smiled.

“Hi Sam, what’s up? What? I sounded happy? Nah, it’s nothing...”

Jazz slowly rose from his bed and left the room, giving him his privacy. Their talk was over, and she was able to give her brother a peace of mind for the time being. Just like how she wanted it to be.

Danny had made his choice. Yes, it’s better to leave the man alone. Let the authorities deal with him, someone as capricious as Vlad Masters…

But ever since she heard Danny’s story, the uneasiness she felt never really goes away. She couldn’t help but feel… feel what?

Dread? Worry? Pity?

...excitement?

She walked autopilot into her own room, closing the door behind her.

She glanced around her room that was still a mess compared to Danny’s, that’s not directly facing the street where the meteorite had landed. At least she had taken care of the glass shards, and someone would fix her windows tomorrow.

Among the knocked clutter of hers, one of them was a small photo frame of her family. The glass was, thankfully, intact. She wiped the dusty layer off the smooth surface fondly.

Mom, Dad, Danny…

All of them were precious. All of them were doing their best to face the crisis, all this time. And her…

She stared down at the photo in her hand for a long time, smiling faces looking back at her. The ticking sound of the clock echoed slowly through her room, steadily, as if trying to urge her.

Something… she could achieve.

Suddenly she raised her head; eyebrow taut with cautious determination. She grabbed some books from her bookcase, cleared her desk, and put both the books and her laptop on top of it.

She got some research to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dan Phantom never knew that Jazz know about his ghost power, and he was surprised when he met the past Jazz again. If only he knew earlier, maybe he wouldn't fall into the dark path… is what I thought. The power of sibling bond? 
> 
> That was when I truly appreciate Jazz’s character, and as I grow up I appreciate her more and more.
> 
> I updated really slow due to IRL stuff, so I’m grateful for those who are still willing to wait. I hope you enjoy this chapter! (Though it’s basically a recap and a build up to… whatever Jazz is set out to do)


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